Paradox Interactive has announced that "Combat Mission: Shock Force," has been shipped to European stores and is also available via digital distribution at Gamer's Gate. In addition, a demo has been released.

"Combat Mission: Shock Force is the latest and most advanced installment in the critically acclaimed Combat Mission series and has been eagerly anticipated by fans during its 3 years in the making.

"Combat Mission: Shock Force is already being referred to as the best in its genre by critics and we look forward to the reactions from strategy gamers all over the world as this game hits stores worldwide", said Fredrik Wester, Executive Vice President for Paradox Interactive.

Combat Mission: Shock Force depicts a hypothetical near future conflict between NATO and Syrian forces in Syria. Players will play a highly story driven semi-dynamic Campaign from the US perspective. A highly accurate environment, playable in real time or turn based, and the intuitive Scenario Editor work to give players an authentic modern ground warfare experience.

"We've worked very closely with former and current military personnel to achieve the high degree of realism in the game and the scenario editor alone should add years to a game that is bringing wargaming to a whole new level" said Steve Grammont, one of the two Founders of Battlefront.com.

Combat Mission: Shock Force has been rated 12+ by Pegi and 16 by USK. The game will retail for €39.99."

The 328MB demo can be downloaded from FilePlanet, Gamer's Hell, or Worthplaying.

The demo includes:

• Two scenarios which can be played from either side
• One of the scenarios is designed as a tutorial to familiarize players with the game system
• The second scenario involves a mix of a US Stryker/Tank force encountering a Syrian Mechanized Infantry force showcasing battles set in a open, rural environment
• All multiplayer modes are active (TCP-IP, PBEM, Hotseat)
• You can access the full Game Editor, but the save function is disabled.
• The full game manual is included